


Change or Fail

by Person



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-25
Updated: 2012-05-25
Packaged: 2017-11-06 00:14:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/412605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Person/pseuds/Person
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Edge City grows there is a very different atmosphere than Midgar once held, but Tseng recognizes that Rufus must change further if he wants to avoid the resentment of the past building up again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Change or Fail

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rozurashii](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rozurashii/gifts).



> Hello, rozurashii! A word of explanation before you jump into the story: I'm your original gifter, but I somehow managed to misread Cloud/Tseng as Rufus/Tseng and never notice that I'd done so until our friendly neighborhood mods emailed me to say "Wait, which prompt is this for?"
> 
> Hopefully by the time you're reading this a pinch hitter has stepped in with an awesome gift for... something you actually requested. orz But I've moved this to moogle fluff in the hopes that you can still enjoy a Tseng-centric story that's mostly gen but faintly Tseng/Rufus.

The city grew in leaps and bounds, much like Midgar had before it and much more smoothly than they'd ever hoped for starting out given the lingering resentment towards Shinra and large cities in general after Meteor and the Weapons which had seen human settlements as a greater threat to wipe out than the man who was outright attempting to destroy the planet. The very feel of their progress was different this time, although Tseng had never recognized just how much darker the mood had been towards Midgar's expansion until he had Edge City as a contrast. Funny how at the time he'd seen himself, along the rest of the Turks as a necessary part of guarding the heads of the company, as much more aware of the true feelings toward Shinra than many of the higher-ups were willing to acknowledge. 

It seemed as if even they had blinded themselves towards lesser grievances that were unlikely to manifest into threats.

Their new city had felt different right from the start. The people it attracted were ones who actually _wanted_ to live there for one thing, who wanted that big-city atmosphere that had almost been lost to them after the technological backslide post-Meteor. The Midgar that had been had been full of people who hated being there instead, who'd come for jobs, because they were sure that _they_ could become wealthy easily in such an urban environment, or who'd just been members of towns absorbed by the growing city, and found that they couldn't stand being packed into small buildings in a place where nothing grew and the smog was so thick that even on the plate you could rarely see the sun. People who'd been too stubborn or, after the cost of settling in there, too poor to leave again, and so spent their days full of festering bitterness towards the city where they lived. Those types stayed away now, joining the ranks of those who would have nothing to do with big cities since the planet had made its feelings about them clear.

One day they would likely become a problem again, but for the time being the ecoterrorists let them be as long as it was clear they weren't building new mako reactors. It helped that the members of Avalanche were, if not on their side, at least visibly content to let them be. Barret was helping them develop new energy sources, Yuffie showed up often to pester them about trading materia (trades that were generally in their best interest to take no matter _what_ she was offering, unless they had the time and energy to waste guarding whatever it was she wanted 24/7 for _weeks_ until she finally gave up on just stealing it out from under their noses), Cloud carried messages for them whenever they needed it, and most weekends it was easy to spot Tifa allowing Rude to hang around her instead of throwing him out by his nose. Then there was Reeve, of course, still on their side even now even if it was from behind the WRO instead of working directly under Rufus. None of them had ever gone so far as to endorse the city to anyone who asked about it, but as the great heroes of the planet having anything to do with them at all was as good as one.

But even more importantly than the type of people they attracted was they way they chose to build this time around. No more devouring small towns to make their city larger, no more turning the people who'd been there to start with into the lowest-level of civilians. They built on land that had been unclaimed to start with, and Rufus allowed Reeve to keep his plans roomy and clean in sections of Edge which were finished and no longer cluttered with construction equipment and temporary shelters, free of trash buildings wherever there was room for them or skyscrapers with rooms like sardine cans. And, the most welcome change of all to people who'd never been happy with Midgar to begin with, _no plate_. Tseng had always honestly liked Midgar as it was, his home when the place he'd been born had turned its back on him with the war, but he could see how the new city was turning into a much more pleasant place to be.

Especially with no violence-hungry Scarlet or mad Hojo whispering into their president's ear, trying to twist the development to better feed their own schemes and cravings. Rufus had yet to order anyone to gun down masses of civilians so they wouldn't stand in the way of expansion. Tseng trusted that, after surviving Weapon's attack on him had softened his views, at least in the eyes of those who knew him best, Rufus would never become the type to give such an order either. Even during his self-proclaimed era of ruling by fear he'd never had his father's sociopathic streak, if Tseng had ever doubted that for an instant his mind had been cleared the day Elena had stopped into his hospital room while he was still recovering from being skewered to rant about how she just didn't _understand_ the president's orders, they'd had all of Avalanche in their hands and he'd _let them go_ except for the two who'd killed all those people by blowing up the Mako reactors. Rufus had never been as hard-hearted as he'd tried to pretend.

But he was still cold, and distant, and _that_ was beginning to have a negative effect on the goodwill Edge City had managed to build up. And, though he did not make a habit of questioning his superiors actions, in the new world they were forging Tseng would not stand back and risk Rufus losing what he'd struggled so hard to build back up by keeping quiet.

And so, one morning as Rufus was eating breakfast, he spoke up. "They're beginning work on the city park today, Sir." A park, one full of greenery instead of just a few old toys on hard packed dirt, another thing that would never have been seen in Midgar. It was being made as another sign of the differences between the cities as much as just a pleasant thing to have.

"I'm aware," Rufus replied, not looking up but briefly shuffling through the schedules he'd been going over to bring up one for city events he would not be taking part in and tapping a spot where the groundbreaking was penciled in. Unsurprising, Rufus was careful to remain aware of every aspect of the city's expansion no matter how small, another difference between him and his father.

"The city planners in charge of the project have invited you to turn the first shovelful of dirt for the central garden," Tseng said, knowing that it was just as unnecessary. Rufus would know. But before he could point that out Tseng quickly went on, "I believe that you should accept the invitation, Sir."

Rufus' face twisted slightly, a sneer but not one nearly so pronounced as it would have been before his brush with death. "I don't play in the dirt like a child, Tseng." The comparison he'd chosen to make would have been harsher in the past; like a commoner, like a peasant, like a poor person, after the brief period after Midgar where it had seemed likely that he might have lost everything he'd started to understand that there was no shame in not being obscenely rich.

Tseng hesitated before going on. Part of the reason that he'd risen to a position of confidence within Shinra Inc, and maintained it as one of the few people Rufus had sought out to keep with him after things had collapsed, was that he could recognize when his bosses would not _want_ to hear a piece of advice and keep his mouth shut accordingly. He'd make plans to deal with the fallout of whatever disaster he saw them running towards, but didn't step in to stop them before it happened.

But... if he wanted things to continue improving, Rufus wasn't the only one who needed to change. And Rufus, _this_ Rufus who'd struggled to use his second shot at life to become a better man than his father, was the first of his bosses who felt worth the risk of shaking Tseng's own position to ensure his own remained secure. So he said, "Permission to speak freely, Sir?"

Rufus waved a hand for him to continue instead of replying directly, already scanning through his schedules again.

"Sir... Rufus, I believe that it is important for you to accept this invitation, or one like it. People are beginning to talk, they feel that you're building Shinra back into a position of power without doing anything besides making a few flashy gestures such as funding the monument."

Rufus finally looked at him, his mouth pressed into a straight line. "Tseng, I sat in a wheelchair for two years to hide Jenova's head from those searching for it. I donated my entire city for building supplies to make Edge grow more smoothly. I've had the city planners do their best to avoid the things people complained about in Midgar. And they say _I've done nothing?_ "

"I'm aware of what you've done, sir. All of us who work for you are. But the people need to be able to see you helping them, they won't just hear that you've been doing things in the background and trust that it's the truth for much longer. You can't risk the public turning against you, Sir. We're no longer in a position where we can silence rumors effectively, and I don't believe Reeve would lend us the WRO's army for such a task." He paused a moment then, though it caused a pang of sorrow even after so many years had gone by, added, "They'll be transplanting flowers from Aerith's garden for the park, as a sign that in Edge we're following the Ancients example and no longer exploiting the planet. By helping create the place they'll grow you can attach some of that symbolism to yourself. It would be a good invitation to accept."

Rufus went on staring at him for a long moment, then pressed his eyes closed. When he opened them again it looked at though a tiny bit more of the old Shinra's fearsome pride, the trait that would have made his father kill a city before admitting any type of defeat, had been released, replaced with wry acceptance. "I hope you realize that I wouldn't allow _anyone_ else to talk me into something like this," he said, pushing himself to his feet to cross over to Tseng and clasp his shoulder, "but I'd hope that after all these years I know you well enough to realize you wouldn't suggest something this degrading if it weren't truly important. Fine, Tseng, I'll go dig in the dirt. But you'll be lending me an outfit before I go; I refuse to get my own clothing filthy over this."

Tseng hadn't realized that he'd been tensing until he finally relaxed, almost sighing with the relief of Rufus' acceptance. He honestly hadn't known until it came whether he would get it or not. The Rufus he'd once been would _never_ have agreed to such a task, and likely would refused to listen to Tseng for weeks for even suggesting it; he'd seen that happen to Heidegger often enough. He knew that Rufus had changed a great deal since then, but even he hadn't been sure if it had been enough.

Things were going to be all right, he allowed himself to think, though with his career that required him to be constantly on the lookout for all the ways things could go wrong he rarely allowed himself optimism. Rufus would allow himself to bend still further, to become the type of leader their reconstructed would was willing to accept.

And Tseng would remain by his side, to ensure that he never faltered as he rose once more.


End file.
